Interactive digital catalogs for touch-screen devices

ABSTRACT

A computer implemented method and computer program product features “Layered UI,” which consists of multiple “layers” activated by user selection options. Another feature is identified as “Linger UI,” or “Time Delayed Layers,” which comprises information that shows up automatically when the user “lingers” on a page for a pre-programmed amount of time. Another feature is identified as “Exploding UI,” or “Bloom View,” which is used to expand into a larger graphic overlay with one or more larger images which provide the user with more in-depth and important product information. Another feature is “Dynamic Personal Catalogs” which allows a user to browse a catalog and create one more “mini-catalogs” from which the user can share or shop, based on the user&#39;s individual needs.

This Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/664,706, filed Jun. 26, 2012.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the marketing and selling ofproducts and services. It also relates generally to web-based (i.e.utilized by means of the virtual community that exists on the “Internet”or within the “world wide web,” or “www”) methods and systems foracquiring, storing, processing, retrieving and displaying informationand data. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method,system and software product that provides an enhanced electronicinteractive digital catalog for touch-screen devices that allows usersand consumers of various goods and services to search for and selectsuitable goods and services from purveyors. It also relates to auser-friendly and computerized platform for searching for and receivinginformation as to certain products sold via digital catalogs, suchcatalogs being available for use with touch-screen devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Goods, and some services, have been sold through product catalogs formore than a century. In today's world of electronic data processing andcommunications, the internet provides consumers and sellers withpromotional opportunities and benefits not previously made possible.This is particularly true for sellers who, up to now, have sold productsand services only through paper catalogs, which are rapidly becoming athing of the past. As in other retail sales areas, it is recognized bythese inventors that consumers and retail sellers of various productsand services are becoming more and more intrigued with the use oftechnology to aid in the search for compatible or suitable goods orservices to be sold to the consuming public. However, using andsearching presently-available websites of purveyors who advertise andsell such goods and services to consumers can be a very labor-intensiveprocess.

In the view of these inventors, what is needed is a method, system andsoftware product for providing much improved functionality ofinteractive digital catalogs for touch-screen devices. Indeed,electronic data processing, digital communication and tactile-actuatedtouch screen technologies make the method and system of the presentinvention possible. The present invention is also made possible by theuse of specialized software that will allow consumers and retail sellersto access and utilize certain unique product selection formats, guidesand search engines. The present invention provides consumers with aconvenient and easy to use electronic platform for conducting electroniccommerce via touch screen devices and further provides them with mobilecapabilities for enhanced product selection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the foregoing, these inventors have perceived a needto provide such a method, system and software product where interactivedigital catalogs, or catalog applications (or simply “apps”), can beprovided for touch-screen devices, such as the iPad® brand tabletcomputer (iPad® is a registered mark of Apple Inc.), in an “on-line” oruser interface (or “UI”) format. It is to be understood, however, thatthe apps of the present invention could also be used with traditionalpersonal computers and other personal computing devices. Such a method,system and software product will provide the user with a UI fornavigating any number of such interactive digital catalogs and isaccessible using mobile encoding technology and personal touch screencomputing devices.

In accordance with the present invention, the inventors morespecifically provide several unique features, or functionalities, aspart of the enhanced catalog app which is the subject of the presentapplication and will be disclosed herein. One feature will be identifiedas “Layered UI,” which consists of multiple “layers,” each of which isactivated by user selection options. Another feature will be identifiedas “Linger UI,” or “Time Delayed Layers,” which comprises informationthat shows up automatically when the user “lingers” on a page for apre-programmed amount of time. This information can also be one of thelayers in the Layered UI concept mentioned above, or can be any otherinformation that is time-activated.

Yet another feature will be identified as “Exploding UI,” or “BloomView.” The functionality of this feature is that, by pinching andzooming on a product that is displayed on the user's screen, a graphicwill explode or expand into a larger graphic overlay with one or morelarger images which provide the user with more in-depth and importantproduct information.

Lastly, another feature will be identified as “Dynamic PersonalCatalogs.” The functionality of this feature allows a user to browse acatalog and to dynamically create one more “mini-catalogs” from whichthe user can share or shop, based on the user's individual needs.

The foregoing and other features of the method, system and softwareproduct of the present invention will become apparent from the detaileddescription that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A through 1D are similar exemplary screen displays thatillustrate the “Time Delayed UI” functionality in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIGS. 2A through 2D are similar exemplary screen displays thatillustrate the “Layered UI” functionality in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIGS. 3A through 3F are similar exemplary screen displays thatillustrate the “Bloom View” functionality in accordance with the presentinvention

FIGS. 4A and 4B are other exemplary screen displays illustrating the“Dynamic Mini-Catalogs from Favorites” functionality in accordance withthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As a prefatory statement, it is to be understood that the method andsystem of the present invention assumes usage of a specific computerprogram product that is used within an electronic commerce (or“e-commerce”) environment and that comprises certain system buildingblock “components.” Those components are data structures, dataprocessors and interfaces, and each component is a functional element.The data structures are places to organize and store data. The dataprocessors are used to manipulate data by performing processes orapplying algorithms to the data. The interfaces connect the datastructures and the data processors to the outside world, or to otherdata structures and data processors, including the virtualinternet-based community that exists within the “world wide web” or“www.” The program includes source code which is a list of instructions,written in a selected computer language, and then converted intocomputer machine language, which language the computer uses to build thesoftware “machine” described by the instructions. The software machineis made up of the components referred to above. The source code is adetailed “blueprint” telling the computer how to assemble thosecomponents into the software machine. Further, the source code isorganized into separate files, files are organized into separatemodules, and modules are organized into separate functions or routinesto accomplish, via pre-programmed algorithms, the necessary steps inaccordance with the method and system of the present invention. It is tobe understood that the specific way that the source code is organizedinto files, modules and functions is a matter of programmer designchoice and is not a limitation of the present invention. It should alsobe understood that the method and system of the present invention ismade possible by virtue of the existence of the internet. The internetoffers opportunities and benefits that cannot be performed with the useof printed product catalogs or other more conventional promotionalliterature.

A first functionality of the present invention is the “Linger”functionality which is comprised of a time-delayed “layer” concept. Morespecifically, this is a time-dependent gesture that provides additionalinformation to the user. As intended, layers show up automatically whenthe user “lingers” on a page or screen display for a certainpre-programmed period of time. That is, when a user spends extra time ona particular screen, the screen begins to interact with the user byproviding additional information through various “layers.” With respectto this functionality, it is to be understood that each screen consistsof different layers. For example, in the preferred embodiment, there isa “social layer” which comprises sharing, comments and ratingsfunctionalities. Next, there is a “commerce layer” which comprisesproduct details, price and a buy button. Next, there is a “story tellinglayer” which includes brand and collection information for the user.Lastly, there is the “visual layer” which comprises photography andother imaging for viewing by the user.

In this “Linger” functionality, when the user electronically “surfs”through product pages, stops at one particular screen and then spends“normal +X” amount of time on that product display page, the user isautomatically provided with additional visuals and information for achosen product. This interaction may result in various outcomesincluding video playing, animation, textile information pops up, variouslayers popping up and the like, and the present invention is limited inthat regard. That is, it is to be understood that the interactionsillustrated in FIGS. 1A through 1D are exemplary only and the presentinvention is not limited to this specific example shown for thisfunctionality.

Specifically referring to FIG. 1A, it shows another touch-screen display(3) comprising an image or visual layer (50). If the personal computingdevice senses that the amount of time spent by the user on the visuallayer (50) displayed on the screen display (3) exceeds thepre-programmed “normal +X” amount of time, the story telling layer (52)crops up on the screen display (3). See FIG. 1B. If the viewer spendsadditional time watching the screen display (3), the commerce layer (54)will indicate certain “hot spots” (55) that will crop up on the displayscreen (3) adjacent certain of the displayed product images. Tapping onone of the hot spots (55) provides the user with additional informationconcerning that particular product. See FIGS. 10 and 1D. The commercehot spot layer (54) is followed by the pricing and purchase option layer(56). The pricing and purchase option layer (56) crops up only when theviewer continues to spend additional time watching the previous screenshown in FIG. 1C. Finally, the user is shown a social layer (58) withvarious different social media options illustrated on the display (3).The present invention is not limited to the types of social mediaillustrated in the preferred embodiment. Tapping the touch-screendisplay (3) at any point off of any information box will then close theboxes.

Similar to the aforementioned functionality, which also includes thevarious layers as described above, is the “Layered UI” feature. Thisfeature is unique because of the fact that there are various layers thata user experiences with every additional tactile interaction that occursbetween the viewer and the screen display. This is illustrated in thepreferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 2A through 2D. For example, thevisual layer could change to a commercial layer due to a tactiletouching of the screen display and a particular product image which mayfurther change to a social layer because of a slide action or any othersimilar physical gesture. In short, it is to be understood that, withrespect to this functionality, the previously identified social,commerce, story telling and visual layers are included as well.

Referring specifically to FIG. 2A, it will be shown that the defaultview, which is the same screen display (3), includes a product image(60), which is similar to the previous discussion. In this particularfunctionally, the editorial layer (64) comes up “on top” of the visuallayer (62). See FIG. 2B. It can show up in response to some useractivity or due to a time delay or some other action. For example, theuser may tap on an icon (65) to show the additional layer. Theexperience could, however, be a result of various other gestures. Thecommerce layer (66) and hot spots (67) are also used in thisfunctionality. That is, similar to the story telling layer, the commercelayer (66) also crops up in response to some user action. See FIG. 2C.This can show up as hot spots (67) on specific product items that havecommerce layer (66) information imbedded with respect to them. Tappingon a given commerce layer hot spot (67) shows additional commercerelated information (68) about the product such as pricing and purchaseoptions. See FIG. 2D. Lastly, as also shown in FIG. 2D, the user isshown a social layer (69) with different options as well. Similar to theprevious functionality, tapping anywhere off of the information box (64)will close it.

The next feature presented in accordance with the present inventionrelates to the “Exploding UI.” In this functionality, there are twobasic concepts that are used—“pinching” and “zooming.” In today's worldof touch screens, pinching and zooming only tend to minimize or expandan image that the user has expanded, for example, by zooming in. In thepresent application, the pinch, zoom and explode gesture does much more.In point of fact, it is not the product image that gets magnified orminimized. Rather, it is the additional information that is germane tothe product which is shown to the viewer, in the form of a “miniexplosion.”

More particularly, and referring now to FIGS. 3A through 3F, this “miniexplosion” functionality is initially illustrated in a display (4) thatis shown in the default view of FIG. 3A. As shown in FIG. 3B, a user cantouch and then tactilely spread his or her fingers using the zoomgesture (72) adjacent a displayed product (70). As the user spreads hisor her fingers further apart using the zoom gesture (72), the screendisplay (4) and product images “bloom” from the center of the selectedproduct. See FIGS. 3C and 3D. It is to be noted that this experience isnot limited to the zooming with the finger gesture. This could also be aresult of other tactile gestures like tapping the bloom icon or circlinga product as previously described. As before, this feature is notlimited to the product choices illustrated in this preferred embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 3E and 3F, once the user has zoomed out of an image(74) by spreading his or her fingers over a product, a quick viewinformation box (76) comes up along with a larger view (78) of a chosenproduct. This could also be a view in accordance with an alternativeembodiment, such as where similar related product illustrations, orrelated product “thumbs” (77 a, 77 b, 77 c, 77 d), appear below the infobox (78). See FIG. 3F. During one or more of the last steps in thisfeature, the display (4) can go “dark” such that the information box(76) and all views (78, 77 a, 77 b, 77 c, 77 d) of the chosen productare effectively highlighted. Again, see FIG. 3F. Once the user haszoomed out of an image by tactilely spreading his or her fingers over aproduct in accordance with the foregoing, tapping on the screen (4) at apoint anywhere other than on information box (76) will collapse or closeit.

Lastly, the functionality of “Dynamic Personal Catalogs” is alsoincluded in the present invention. FIG. 4A illustrates a screen display(5) together with a number of exemplary “lists” (80, 82, 84, 86, 88) ofthe type described above. With “favorites” lists, multiple users cankeep track of products or items they have chosen and designated as“favorites.” These lists become similar to “mini-catalogs” consisting ofselections from a main electronic catalog. This makes it easy forshoppers to sort out who wants what and what the user has selected forparticular individuals or in the area of specific product lines. Forexample, the list (80) identified as “Dad's List” in FIG. 4A can beexpanded to illustrate (81) greater product detail for this particularlist (80). There are also evergreen lists (for tools and homes) thatcould follow across catalogs throughout the year. The present inventionis not limited to the specific types of lists that can be used orcreated. In this particular preferred embodiment, each list (80, 82, 84,86, 88) shows when it was last updated and users are able to comment onlists. For example, a child might make a list and then comment that heor she really needs everything on it. The parent might disagree andsimilarly comment that the child needs to shorten the list to one orseveral items.

In accordance with the foregoing, it will be seen that there has beenprovided a new and useful method, system and software product that usesseveral unique features, or functionalities, as part of an enhancedcatalog app. One feature is the “Layered UI,” which consists of multiple“layers,” each of which is activated by user selection options. Anotherfeature is the “Linger UI,” or “Time Delayed Layers” feature, whichcomprises information that is visually presented automatically when theuser “lingers” on a page for a pre-programmed amount of time. Thisinformation can also be one of the layers in the Layered UI conceptmentioned above, or can be any other information that is time-activated.Still another feature is the “Exploding UI,” or “Bloom View.” Thefunctionality of this feature is that, by pinching and zooming on aproduct that is featured on the user's touch screen display, a graphicwill explode or expand into a larger graphic overlay with one or morelarger images which provides the user with more in-depth and importantproduct information. Lastly, the feature identified as “Dynamic PersonalCatalogs” allows a user to browse a catalog and to dynamically createone more “mini-catalogs” from which the user can share or shop, based onthe user's individual needs. This method, system and software productprovides the user with prompts and guidance for improving productpurchases via mobile encoding technology and personal computing devices.

The details of the invention having been disclosed in accordance withthe foregoing, we claim:
 1. A computer implemented method for obtainingdetails and information for a product comprising the steps of:electronically providing a user interface featuring a product displaypage; electronically providing a first user interface element forallowing the user to tactilely select a displayed product;electronically providing a second user interface element for allowingthe user to view additional product information relating to thedisplayed product as a function of time spent by the user on the productdisplay page.
 2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein theadditional product information comprises a plurality of functionallayers comprising a social layer, a commerce layer, a story tellinglayer and a visual layer.
 3. The computer implemented method of claim 1where layers are displayed in accordance with a preprogrammed scheme oftime where time is a first set amount of time and a second set amount oftime.
 4. The computer implemented method of claim 2 wherein the sociallayer comprises alternative social media options.
 5. The computerimplemented method of claim 2 wherein the commerce layer comprises a hotspot layer.
 6. The computer implemented method of claim 2 wherein thecommerce layer comprises a pricing and purchase option layer.
 7. Acomputer implemented method of claim 2 wherein the displayed layers canbe selected by the user via tactile contact with the first userinterface element.
 8. A computer implemented method for obtainingdetails and information for a product comprising the steps of:electronically providing a user interface featuring a product displaypage; electronically providing a first user interface element forallowing the user to tactilely select a displayed product;electronically providing a second user interface element for allowingthe user to tactilely contract or expand a displayed product image tocontract or expand a display of other related products.
 9. A computerprogram product for obtaining details and information relating to aproduct, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitorycomputer readable medium comprising instructions for: electronicallyproviding a user interface featuring a product display page;electronically providing a first user interface element for allowing theuser to tactilely select a displayed product; electronically providing asecond user interface element for allowing the user to view additionalproduct information relating to the displayed product as a function oftime spent by the user on the product display page.
 10. The computerprogram product of claim 9 wherein the additional product informationcomprises a plurality of functional layers comprising a social layer, acommerce layer, a story telling layer and a visual layer.
 11. Thecomputer program product of claim 9 where layers are displayed inaccordance with a preprogrammed scheme of time where time comprises afirst set amount of time and a second set amount of time.
 12. Thecomputer program product of claim 9 wherein the social layer comprisesalternative social media options.
 13. The computer program product ofclaim 9 wherein the commerce layer comprises a hot spot layer.
 14. Thecomputer program product of claim 9 wherein the commerce layer comprisesa pricing and purchase option layer.
 15. A computer program product ofclaim 9 wherein the displayed layers can be selected by the user viatactile contact with the first user interface element.
 16. A computerprogram product for obtaining details and information relating to aproduct, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitorycomputer readable medium comprising computer instructions for:electronically providing a user interface featuring a product displaypage; electronically providing a first user interface element forallowing the user to tactilely select a displayed product;electronically providing a second user interface element for allowingthe user to tactilely contract or expand a displayed product image tocontract or expand a display of other related products.